Truck Safety

Commercial trucking is integral to our economy and our American way of life. However, large trucks introduce a disproportionate hazard to passenger vehicle occupants involved in a crash due to their sheer size, weight, and physical properties.

What We Have Learned from Our Crash Investigations:

Drivers should...

Minimize all distractions and follow federal regulations about cell phone use.
Follow posted speed limits; drive even slower in bad weather.
Stay healthy! Take breaks and exercise, manage fatigue, and avoid driving while taking impairing medications —prescription and over-the-counter.
Wear seatbelts. And ensure your passengers do, too!
Drive sober — never get behind the wheel while impaired by drugs and alcohol.

Owners/Managers should...

Implement a fatigue management program based on the North American Fatigue Management Program.
Purchase trucks equipped with underride protection, advanced speed-limiting technologies, collision avoidance systems (then train drivers on their use).
Establish policies to address driver medical fitness for duty.

Stats to know

4,965: Number of persons killed in crashes involving large trucks in 2020—13 percent of these were pedestrians, pedalcyclists and other nonoccupants, an increase of 9% in a decade. (Source: NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts 2020 Data)
Of the approximately 415,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks in 2020, there were 4,444 (1 percent) fatal crashes and 101,000 (24 percent) injury crashes (Source: FMCSA, Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2020.
* Of the fatalities in 2020: 71 percent (3,512) were occupants of other vehicles; 17 percent (831) were occupants of large trucks; and 13 percent (622) were nonoccupants (pedestrians, pedalcyclists, or other nonoccupants)